Pedal power | Bruce Eidsvik

Bicycles to go . . . 20,000 Velib bikes are available for use day and night from self-service depots all over Paris.

Jason Murphy

Bruce Eidsvik, Asia-Pacific managing director of Genesys.

How did you get started?

I started cycling seriously in 1990 in London, Ontario in Canada. My first bike was a mountain bike with no shocks. I went through a bunch of versions and upgrades including a Trek Y bike (one of the first with full suspension) and then got into 24 hour mountain bike racing. That was a lot of fun and we had a good team that knew how to balance riding with beer drinking. I got into road riding in 2002 but only in the shoulder season when it was too muddy for mountain biking. I moved to France in 2006 and brought my mountain bike with me but during my five years in France it never made it out of its shipping container.

How many bikes?

I guess the question is not only how many bikes but when does it officially become a “new” bike. I’ve had several bikes morph over a three year period – new wheels, drive train, brakes, shocks, seats, rims, seat post, handles doors, bottom brackets, frames.

How much did they cost?

Kind of riding

In Paris, I rode to work on my commuter all year around and often on a Velib bike (Paris’s free bikes). For leisure, we pull a Chariot with the kids. For racing, I joined a French cycling club.

I’ve done Paris to Nice twice. The second time was a 10-day ride covering 1700kms and 25,000m of climbing. I burnt about 8000 calories a day (the equivalent of two marathons) and the hardest day was Bourg St Maurice to Alpe d’Huez – 205km, 4400m of climbing finishing with the Alpe d’Huez itself. I burnt 10,000 calories that day.

Tips

Yes, two things I notice a lot: seats are too low and the gear is too low. I very often see people struggling in a low gear and not spinning fast enough.

Kilometres a week

Not enough.

Most like to ride with

A group of 20 riders who are really working as a team, sharing leads.

Favourite gear

My Norwegian Garmin-Cervelo team jersey.

Favourite ride

Mont Ventoux – you are in one of the most beautiful parts of France and you can really feel the history of the famous ascents.

Disasters, memorable moments

I went up Mt Ventoux in November. It was 20 degrees at the bottom but it was -3 degrees at the top. Going up was fine, going down, not so much. I had no gloves and my fingers were freezing to the brake levers and I could hardly move them. I didn’t think I’d be able to stop. Luckily I did.

What would you improve about cycling?

More bikes – one of my favourite memories of Paris was riding home from a restaurant on the free bikes through the city. It was amazing. There are 20,000 Velib bikes in Paris. You see them everywhere and they have become part of the city.